Tributes as Mark Bee chairs his last county council cabinet meeting
Tributes have been paid to Mark Bee's leadership. - Credit: Archant
Tributes came from across the political spectrum as Mark Bee chaired his last cabinet meeting as leader of Suffolk County Council.
Mr Bee resigned from the position last week, six weeks after the ruling Conservative group at Endeavour House elected Colin Noble as its new leader.
Mr Noble is expected to be confirmed as the new leader of the county council at its annual meeting on Thursday.
At the end of the cabinet meeting, which had agreed to go ahead with proposals to work with districts and boroughs in the county to seek devolution of more powers, Liberal Democrat group leader David Wood said Mr Bee had worked hard to include all councillors in decision-making.
He said: “As opposition groups we have been given the chance to express our views and we feel we have had a good opportunity to take part in the decision-making process.
You may also want to watch:
“That has not always been the case – but while we have of course had our differences we have always felt we have been listened to.”
His views were echoed by UKIP group leader Bill Mountford who said his group had always felt it had been brought into the decision-making process by Mr Bee.
Most Read
- 1 Boss who boasted of lavish lifestyle is bankrupt with £100k debts
- 2 Felixstowe beach hut goes on sale for record price
- 3 History of the Cook cull - a look back at his busy transfer windows with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan
- 4 Woman's body found in village home
- 5 Indian Covid variant being monitored in Suffolk after one case confirmed
- 6 A14 delays as police deal with incident near Orwell Bridge
- 7 A14 re-opens after medical emergency
- 8 Couple were found 'slumped over' on their sofa, inquest hears
- 9 ‘Unique’ farm in coveted river setting hits market for first time in 60 years
- 10 How many of these 11 award-winning Suffolk food businesses do you know?
Mr Bee himself thanked councillors and officials for their support during his four years as council leader.
He said: “I have always felt it was right to open up our decisions to those from all sides. We might not agree and we might not change our minds, but it is right that all sides of an argument are heard before a decision is made.”
On Monday Mr Bee was joined for a private lunch at Beccles by the leaders of other political groups – including official opposition leader, Labour’s Sandy Martin.
Mr Noble will unveil his first cabinet at Thursday’s meeting – and that is expected to show many changes from the group who met today.
